Valeting typically refers to a quick clean of a car, focusing on the basics. For the exterior, this might include a jet wash, shampoo, towel dry, and a quick spray wax. For the interior, it usually means cleaning the dashboard, vacuuming, and wiping the windows. Detailing, on the other hand, goes much deeper. It involves thoroughly cleaning every part of the car, including areas often overlooked during a valet, such as removing paint contaminants, addressing clear coat defects, and reaching every tiny nook and cranny.

Every vehicle has paint contamination—even brand-new cars with just a few miles on the clock. This contamination includes airborne chemicals, iron particles, adhesives, industrial fallout, rail dust, acid rain, bird droppings, road tar, tree sap, brake dust, road salt, and more. These particles embed deep into the paintwork, and no amount of shampooing or jet spraying can remove them. That’s why our advanced valet and detailing packages include thorough paint decontamination as standard.

There’s no denying that your local £20 car wash has its place—it’s fast, cheap, and convenient. However, there are some significant drawbacks you might not have considered:

1. Harsh Products: Many car washes use aggressive chemicals to quickly lift dirt, which over time can damage your car’s alloys, paintwork, glass, and plastics.

2. Cross-Contamination: With a high volume of customers, the same cloths and sponges are often reused for hours, spreading dirt and grit that can scratch and swirl your car's surface. These scratches aren’t immediately visible because all you notice is a clean car.

3. Untrained Staff: Many workers are untrained and there for quick earnings, increasing the risk of damage to your vehicle, especially when combined with the issues above.

4. No Protection: After cleaning, your car’s paintwork is often left unprotected, leaving it exposed to the harsh British weather and requiring another quick wash sooner than you'd like.

No two jobs are the same. An advanced valet will take longer on a car that’s been neglected for years—perhaps only washed once a year or frequently driven in areas with high levels of paint contamination—compared to a car enthusiast’s vehicle that’s cleaned twice a month and kept in a garage. When we arrive for your booking, we’ll inspect your car, discuss its cleaning history, and provide a more accurate time estimate for the job. In extreme cases where the paintwork has been severely neglected, the job may take longer and cost more, but we’ll always advise you of this before starting.